1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to medical devices, and, more particularly, to methods, apparatus, and systems for providing improved charge utilization when providing an electrical signal therapy by a medical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been many improvements over the last several decades in medical treatments for disorders of the nervous system, such as epilepsy and other motor disorders, and abnormal neural discharge disorders. One of the more recently available treatments involves the application of an electrical signal to reduce various symptoms or effects caused by such neural disorders. For example, electrical signals have been successfully applied at strategic locations in the human body to provide various benefits, including reducing occurrences of seizures and/or improving or ameliorating other conditions. A particular example of such a treatment regimen involves applying an electrical signal to the vagus nerve of the human body to reduce or eliminate epileptic seizures, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,702,254, 4,867,164, and 5,025,807 to Dr. Jacob Zabara, which are hereby incorporated in this specification in their entirety by reference.
More generally, the endogenous electrical activity (i.e., activity attributable to the natural functioning of the patient's own body) of a neural structure of a patient may be modulated in a variety of ways. In particular, the electrical activity may be modulated by exogenously applied (i.e., from a source other than the patient's own body) electrical, chemical, or mechanical signals applied to the neural structure. The modulation (hereinafter referred to generally as “neurostimulation” or “neuromodulation”) may involve the induction of afferent action potentials, efferent action potentials, or both, in the neural structure, and may also involve blocking or interrupting the transmission of endogenous electrical activity traveling along the nerve. Electrical signal therapy or electrical modulation of a neural structure (also known as “electrical signal therapy”) refers to the application of an exogenous therapeutic electrical signal (as opposed to a chemical or mechanical signal), to the neural structure. Electrical signal therapy may be provided by implanting an electrical device underneath the skin of a patient and delivering an electrical signal to a nerve such as a cranial nerve. The electrical signal therapy may involve performing a detection step, with the electrical signal being delivered in response to a detected body parameter. This type of stimulation is generally referred to as “active,” “feedback,” or “triggered” stimulation. Alternatively, the system may operate without a detection system once the patient has been diagnosed with epilepsy (or another medical condition), and may periodically apply a series of electrical pulses to the nerve (e.g., a cranial nerve such as a vagus nerve) intermittently throughout the day, or over another predetermined time interval. This type of stimulation is generally referred to as “passive,” “non-feedback,” or “prophylactic,” stimulation. The stimulation may be applied by an implantable medical device that is implanted within the patient's body.
A number of medical conditions that are amenable to electrical signal therapy via cranial nerve stimulation present symptoms in regions outside the brain. For example, disorders of the neurological system, the gastrointestinal system, the pancreas, or the kidneys, feature impaired or improper function of those organs. Diabetes, particularly type I diabetes, often features impaired production of insulin by the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Electrical signal stimulation of either the brain alone or the organ alone may have some efficacy in treating such medical conditions, but may not have maximal efficacy.
Therefore, a need exists for apparatus and methods for performing electrical signal stimulation of both the brain and an organ outside the brain. A need also exists for apparatus and methods for performing electrical signal stimulation with increased efficacy.